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Alle Kapitel von A Man with Nerves of Steel: Kapitel 21 – Kapitel 30

30 Kapitel

Chapter 21

Natalie was stupefied. In all her years growing up, this was the first time Cora had ever hit her, and it was a straight-up slap across the face. Judging from the strength Cora had used, she hadn't held back in the slightest. The sting on her cheek she could endure, but the crack that opened in her heart wasn't something she could accept."Did you actually hit me, Mom?" she asked in disbelief.Seeing the hurt in Natalie's eyes made Cora feel like she'd gone a bit too far. However, her gaze stayed sharp as she stared Natalie down. She reached out to touch Natalie's cheek, but the latter flinched and dodged her.She asked coolly, "What did I tell you before sending you to your father? If he doesn't come back, you and your sisters aren't allowed to come back, either. I wanted you to bring him home. He has issues with me, but he wouldn't have made things hard on you girls. And what did you do? You come back alone."Secondly, I'm the one who gave birth to you. Could anyone possibly know

Chapter 22

At that moment, Joseph was in the operating room as an assistant, with Walt as the lead surgeon performing the craniotomy.The first assistant was the head of the surgical department. He was in charge of opening the scalp, separating the skull, and cutting through the dura mater. Then, it was up to Walt to handle the intracranial lesion.As the fourth assistant, Joseph had no chance to even touch a scalpel. Still, he silently worked through each step in his mind. In his view, after decades in the field, Walt's surgical technique was polished to perfection, and his judgment of the condition was on point.Nevertheless, age was catching up with him. When it came to speed and steadiness, he was just a little off his former peak.Joseph felt that if he were the lead surgeon, he was confident he could operate with greater precision and speed. He could better control the bleeding and give the patient a higher chance of survival.That thought grew even stronger during the breaks in the op

Chapter 23

Bernard and Joseph parted on a bad note.After Joseph walked out, Walt came out of another office. Seeing the awful look on Bernard's face told him that the talk with Joseph had obviously blown up. A bad feeling washed over him.He was right.Bernard turned to Walt and snapped, "That ingrate has grown a pair now. He actually dared to go against me! I'll make sure he gets it into his head that in Jenton, nobody crosses me and walks away! Fire him. Make sure he can't practice as a doctor anymore."I'll call in a few favors. We'll see which hospital out there dares to hire him after he's kicked out from here. I can't wait to see how he plans to survive in Jenton!""Come on, Bernard. I think that's taking things too far. Joseph only brought up divorce because he wants to give Cora and Natalie's biological father a chance to be together. He wasn't targeting you. Someone at your level doesn't need to come down this hard on him," Walt hurriedly said."He wants Cora to pay him several bi

Chapter 24

Cora hadn't expected Bernard to threaten Joseph. She was… speechless. Then, with a sharp rip, she tore the divorce papers clean in half, then folded and ripped them again into four pieces. She didn't want a divorce."My dad didn't really mean what he said to you. But if we're being honest, this is kind of your fault, too. You told Nat about all this nonsense, so she went and exaggerated it to my parents. She's been crying her eyes out the last couple of days, which is why my dad got so angry and came after you."Joe, you used to dote on Nat so much that you wouldn't let anything hurt a hair on her head. Yet now, you're using her as a weapon. You've become so cold, calculating, and vicious. What caused this change?""I'm not taking the blame for that. Natalie isn't my daughter. She's the bastard you had with some other man. You and your parents can keep lying to yourselves all you want, but that's on you."Joseph was getting impatient. He genuinely didn't understand why Cora insiste

Chapter 25

The next day, Joseph met Fiona at a cafe at noon. He walked straight over to her and saw that she'd already ordered drinks and food—a large steak set. Since they were friends, she knew what he liked."If you're here to talk me into taking Cora back, then we can skip this meal," he said bluntly."Well, I'm not. I'm here to talk about something related to your job. I have a relative who's sick and needs to be transferred to your hospital. I was hoping you could keep an eye on them."Fiona's words were half true, half excuse. She just wanted to keep Joseph calm enough so that he would at least make it through lunch with her. She also wanted to sound him out, but every time she tried, he smoothly changed the subject."Joseph, do you know Bernard is planning to sue you?" she asked.Joseph answered, "And he should. After all, I demanded billions of dollars right off the bat. Is that what Cora wants, too?""Honestly, she isn't thinking of that. She just feels like you've wronged her."

Chapter 26

Joseph sneezed. It wasn't a cold; it felt more like someone was thinking about him, resenting him, or bad-mouthing him.Either way, it didn't stop him from paying his PhD tuition. Thanks to his own application and Walt's help, he was able to resume the doctoral program he'd started more than ten years ago. Now, all he had to do was finish his dissertation and defend it, and he'd finally get his PhD.After paying his fees, he settled down and dove into his medical books and research materials. He studied straight through until about 7:00 pm, when he finally headed to the hospital cafeteria for dinner.When he got back, he drank some water and studied for a bit more. Soon, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. Before long, he was slumped over his desk and fast asleep.He had no idea how much time had passed when, in a groggy haze, he sensed someone come into the room. Something was poured into his mouth, then he was lifted and moved onto the bed. He was stripped."Cora, what are you

Chapter 27

Joseph thought he was seeing things. He scrutinized the photo from every angle, even suspecting that it was synthesized. But when he compared it inch by inch, he realized every detail matched his dorm room. It was genuine.He slumped into his chair, feeling defeated. The strength drained out of him. If not for the armrests and the back of the chair, he might have slid straight onto the floor.According to the photo, last night, right here in this dorm room, he'd done something unspeakable with a woman who was not his wife. The woman's face wasn't visible, but the butterfly tattoo on her body made it very clear she wasn't Cora.Damn it. Last night hadn't been a dream!Who was this woman? How had she gotten into his room? Why would he have let her in? Why would he have messed around with her? Why hadn't he pushed her away? What the hell had he been doing?A barrage of questions turned Joseph's mind into a tangled mess. Compared to this inexplicable disgrace, what really made his hea

Chapter 28

That night, Joseph tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He kept glancing at the door, worried he hadn't locked it properly and that another woman might walk in. In reality, he'd already wedged the door shut from the inside. Even if Cora or anyone else had a key, there was no way to open it from the outside.Although this whole "one-night stand" was something Cora had orchestrated to force him to compromise and go home, it was still dirt on him. If word really spread around the hospital, no one would care why it had happened. They would only care that it had.In their eyes, he would be a man with a filthy personal life. In the worst case, he could be fired on the spot. Even if Walt tried to shield him, any hope of promotion would basically be gone.He just wanted a quiet, ordinary life and career, but reality kept playing cruel jokes on him. He was left feeling helpless and furious.Joseph sighed heavily, but deep down he'd already made up his mind. Whatever consequences were coming,

Chapter 29

After ending the conversation with Fiona, Joseph was called back to Walt's office. Bernard had already left."Joseph, you didn't go easy on Bernard at all. He was steely-faced when he left." Walt told Joseph to sit.Bernard had punched Joseph without even bothering to get to the bottom of the matter, and he'd even threatened Joseph. On top of that, there was the scandal Cora had created. Joseph didn't think he had anything to do with either of them anymore.He said, "I didn't say anything wrong or untrue. The divorce itself is a simple matter. Bernard is the one who's acting out of line and coming to the hospital time and time again to push me.""It does involve his daughter, after all.""And Cora is the source of all these problems in the first place." Joseph didn't want to waste time talking about his messy personal life now. He switched to talking about work.Right then, Walt's secretary came in with a fax. He signed in, then said to Joseph, "I'm heading to an important medica

Chapter 30

Joseph tried calling Cora, but her phone was switched off. He couldn't reach Fiona, either, so he had no choice but to go down to the precinct."Dr. Hart, it's you? If I'd known Natalie was your daughter, I would've sent her to your place." The pretty policewoman on duty recognized Joseph and greeted him warmly.Joseph, however, wasn't pleased in the slightest. He exchanged a few perfunctory pleasantries and went straight into the paperwork. When he saw the intake form and realized Natalie had indicated he was her stepfather, his heart gave another sharp twist.Natalie had been brought in for theft—or more accurately, for being mistaken as a thief. She'd gone into an upscale private club and had been stopped and detained by security. When she couldn't produce any ID, they'd handed her over to the patrol officers.Joseph said nothing on the drive. He kept his eyes on the road as he took Natalie to Bernard and Helen's place. She was supposed to be attending a night class at this hour

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